


Nightmares

by iridescentspirit



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Fluff, I'm Bad At Summaries, Let these babies sleep!!!!, Nightmares, Soft Tetra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25398148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iridescentspirit/pseuds/iridescentspirit
Summary: Link and Tetra both suffer from nightmares and finally one night they take comfort in each other.
Relationships: Link & Tetra (Legend of Zelda), Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Tetra (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Kudos: 27





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> Just a short and fluffy lil thing I wrote up one night. I love these kids, they've been through so much.

_The pitch black passage stretched endlessly before him, the only light coming from the faint glow of his blade. He turned his head to peer behind him, there seemed to be no beginning and no ending, only darkness. The silence was deafening and pressing uncomfortably on his ears.Sweat beaded on his forehead and slipped down his temples as he clutched the blue hilt of the Master Sword in anticipation. The Hero of Winds was unsure of how he had found himself in this endless tunnel but he could feel the danger of it. His heart pounded against his chest so violently he was certain the sound of it was reverberating along the walls, alerting any enemies of his presence._

_Link stepped carefully forward, his pointed ears quite alert, his brown eyes searching the darkness in vain. Suddenly, the earth vibrated underneath him and he heard a crash and a sound of rock being crushed into pieces. He paused instantaneously, watching and waiting to strike. He heard a muffled sound to his left but, before he could react, a scream so loud and shrill sliced through the musty air. He wanted to clap his hands over his ears, but the pitch was so high it pierced him to his very core and he felt his body lock up. Unable to move, his eyes searched the darkness and then he saw two red beads in the black, staring at him and growing ever closer. The redead’s scream echoed through the vast tunnel, preventing his brain from directing his extremities. To his horror, Link felt freezing cold bony arms lock around his neck. The skull of the skeleton moved in for his head as if to bite him._

_The tunnel suddenly lit up so bright Link had to squint to see, the redead’s screams faded away and, freed from the creature’s gasp, Link sliced with his sword and cut into the skeletal body. When he looked up he saw he was surrounded by an entire army of redeads. In perfect synchronization, the army of the dead let out a shriek that made Link collapse._

Link woke with a start; his heart was beating out of his chest and his entire body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He lay on his back, staring at the underside of the deck of Tetra’s ship, trying to regulate his breathing and slow his heart down. A lantern flickered feebly across the room beside Mako, who had fallen asleep with his nose, predictably, in a book. The hammock he was sleeping in swayed gently with the rocking of the ship. Link kicked off his blanket, unable to cool down.

Finally abandoning hope, Link slid out of his hammock and quietly tiptoed out of the room and onto the deck. He glanced up at the sky, a waning gibbous moon hovered above his head, millions of tiny lights glittering in the black ink sky. A cool and salty wind whipped across his face and he closed his eyes; red dots blinked behind his eyelids.

Shaking the dream out of his head, Link turned and climbed up a ladder beside the door. As he stepped onto the upper deck he was surprised to see his captain sitting on the rails, her hair was down for once and one knee was pulled up to her chest, the other dangling over the open sea. She turned her head as she heard his footsteps and raised a blonde eyebrow at him.

“What are you doing up?” She asked him sternly, but with an edge in her voice that Link was unable to identify.

He chewed on his answer carefully before deciding on being honest.

“Nightmares.” He said shortly, after he made his way to her. His arms were crossed and resting on the rail beside her small frame. “What are you doing up?” Tetra gave him an odd look, then turned out to look at the black line horizon.

“Nightmares.” She answered, shrugging. Link didn’t say anything.

“Even at 18 we are still haunted by the past.” She murmured quietly, almost to herself. She was showing an uncharacteristically human side that Link had rarely ever experienced.

Tetra hopped down and sat down on the deck, her back against the rail.

“What was yours about?” She asked him.

“Redeads.” Link said, sitting down beside her. She looked at him quizzically. “They’re dead. Skeletons with rotting flesh hanging off their bones, and they let out these screams that paralyze you. It’s horrible. They are by far the most terrifying creatures I have encountered… To lose control of your body like that. It’s not a feeling I like remembering.”

Tetra shivered at the thought.

“What about you?” He asked her. She sighed, and when she spoke her voice was little more than a whisper.

“They’re always the same. It starts off with Ganon invading my dreams, like he did that day…” Link didn’t need her to remind him of the day he finally faced Ganondorf head on. “Then it transitions into being frozen and lifted into a weird state of nothingness but feeling my life being sucked out of me very slowly. And I’m watching you. Watching you nearly die fighting.”

Link looked at her, appalled.

“Do you kill me in your dreams?” He asked her, making his eyes comically large to try and make her laugh. His attempt was moderately successful. She cracked a smile and nudged him with her elbow.

“No, you never die.” She leaned her head back and stared up at the sky. “But it’s so hard, to watch you fight nearly to death for me.” Link was unsure what to say, Tetra had never expressed such a tender side to him in their years of sailing together.

“You’re my best friend. I hate watching you suffer at my expense.” She said, leaning her head on his shoulder.

“I’m your best friend?” He asked her, resisting the urge to laugh. “I would never have guessed.” She looked up at him, incredulous. Her velvety blue eyes searched his for a long time before she spoke again.

“Of course you are. I know I’m not the most… _open_ person—“  
“I would have said friendly.” Link interjected jokingly. She rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, I know that. But I do care about you a lot… I’m sorry I don’t show it more often.” She leaned her head back down on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He heard her breathe in deep. It was then that he realized what the edge in her voice was.

Love. It was tentative and awkward and he knew it scared her.

He laughed quietly and, taking a risk, put his arm around her shoulders. He expected her to shrug it off and move away but instead she scooted into him ever so slightly. Her long golden hair whipped around both of them now and it smelled like almonds.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s the type of person you are.” He pressed his cheek to the top of her head and she made a small noise of thanks.

“You’re my best friend, too.” He told her, and she looked up at him with watery eyes. He was startled but carefully kept his face calm and steady, so as not to spook her.

Impulsively, she pressed her lips to his and for the briefest moment they were kissing.

Link’s mind was reeling and the next thing he knew she was back to resting her head on his shoulder.

Choosing not to ruin the moment by talking, he merely smiled to himself and squeezed his pirate captain a little closer. Together they sat there, quiet, watching the sky and the ocean until the gold sun began to peek out over the sea.


End file.
